FIT Tool Quality Standards
What are the FIT tool quality standards?
The FIT tool quality standards are a way for users to quickly know about the quality of a FIT tool. These standards also incentivise good coding and documentation practices for developers. The required tool quality badges will be assigned by a reviewer during the onboarding and biannual tool quality review processes.
Which software tools within the FIT do tool quality standards apply to?
These standard will apply to all new tools onboarded to the toolbox, as well as tools developed or actively maintained since January 2019.
How will the FIT tool quality standards be applied?
The tool quality standards will first be applied to existing tools in the FIT developed or actively maintained since January 2019. These standards will begin to be applied in July 2024.
The tool quality standards will then be applied to all new tools during the onboarding process starting in 2025. If developers request onboarding before this time, their tools will be onboarded with complete metadata, and the tool quality standards will be applied to their tool in 2025.
After the initial review, tools will be reviewed biannually to check that they still meet the tool quality standards.
How will I know when my software tool will be reviewed for the tool quality standards?
We will reach out via email to developers of existing tools and work with you to identify a timeline that suits your needs.
What can I do to prepare?
You can look at the reviewer checklist and make modifications to your tool based on the requirements listed. The goal of the review process is NOT to fail tools, but rather to provide feedback that allows developers to make changes to their tools in order to meet the tool quality standards.
What support is available to developers who need to make modifications to their tool to meet the tool quality standards?
We plan to develop how-to resources as needed (including short videos and written guides). We are also planning to offer office hour sessions where you can get technical assistance. However, the FIT committee does not have the capacity to write documentation, tests, or custom GitHub Actions for a tool maintainer.
What is the process for applying standards?
The FIT coordinator will check your tool for inclusion in the FIT, then assign a reviewer to review the tool for documentation and testing checklist items. The reviewer will check off items where you meet the standard. The review process is open, so reviewers and the tool maintainer can communicate throughout the review process. After reviewing, the reviewer will provide information on how the tool could meet more of the checklist items. If a sufficient number of checklist items are checked to meet the tool quality standards, the tool can be onboarded (or remain) in the FIT. See the documentation and testing checklists for specifics about how many items must be checked off. If there are not a sufficient number of checklist items met, modifications are needed to onboard the tool or allow it to remain in the FIT.
How will users know if my tool met the tool quality standards?
A badge will be displayed on the software tool’s FIT web page:
If a tool will be assessed but hasn’t yet, it will have a to-review badge:
If a tool will never be reviewed to meet the quality standards, it will have a “not assessed” badge:
